She would have liked to hug him, but instead she held out her hand, seeing the look on his face. He knew she was hurt, she could tell from his pained expression as he stepped towards her and took her one hand in both of his. But before he could say anything, she spoke.
‘Thank you, Lorenzo, for everything you’ve done for me,’ she said, smiling through her tears. ‘The care and compassion youshowed me when I turned up unannounced in your office shows your true nature, and I will never forget your good deed. Your firm has my business for as long as I am alive.’
‘Thank you,’ he said, still holding her hand tightly in his. ‘Your father always told me how special his daughter was, and I see that, too. You’re a remarkable woman, Valentina.’
She wished he knew how much his words meant to her.
‘I’ve left a letter on your desk to be mailed, and I intend on composing another letter that I’d like you to hold for me. It’s to be sent to my daughter when I’m no longer here, when she inherits the Santiago estate.’
He nodded, and she appreciated that he didn’t ask questions.
‘I would also like an appropriate amount of funds to be transferred to Hope Berenson, and I’d like your firm to keep abreast of her situation. I don’t want to see her doors close due to lack of funds, so please ensure that doesn’t happen. You may make ongoing donations as required.’
‘I understand,’ he said, as he slowly let go of her hand.
‘My daughter…’ Valentina paused, steadying herself and forcing her emotions down. ‘My daughter has been adopted by a family in London. In the first instance, I would like you to offer them money to return her to me. If they are the family Hope suggests they are, I foresee that they will refuse, and if that happens I’d like an investigator to stay informed of her whereabouts and the family’s situation. I would like for you to make donations to her school and any clubs she may be part of as she grows up, anonymously of course, and when I pass away, everything will be left to her or to her children.’
‘Valentina, if I may, you’re only a young woman. You might change your mind about whom you’d like to leave your estate to, especially when you marry and start a family.’
She touched his shoulder, knowing that he had her best interests at heart, but also how hard it would be for him toever comprehend what she’d been through, and how that would affect the decisions she made for the rest of her life.
‘I don’t intend on marrying ever again, or having any more children, but I will keep your advice in mind,’ she said.
‘You’re going to have a wonderful life, Valentina,’ he said. ‘I’ve never met a young woman quite like you.’
‘Thank you,’ she said, as she walked out of his office, through the reception area and into the sunshine.
It felt like a lifetime ago that she’d made her way to this office, pregnant and afraid. It was as if she’d been a girl then, and now she was a woman, with a fractured heart that she doubted would ever heal from the wounds it had sustained. She’d lost her father and mother, but she’d gained an understanding of the world and now knew how much pain one person could endure yet somehow still survive.
But she was alive, and she had her freedom. She would forever yearn for her daughter and mourn the loss of Felipe from her life, but she wouldn’t let that stop her from living. With the estate her father had left behind, she had the ability to help others, to live a full life despite what she’d lost. And in his memory, that was what she intended on doing.
For my daughter, for my father, I have to live. For now, she could mourn the loss of everything she’d loved, for everything she’d wanted but could no longer have, with the memory of her daughter tucked in her arms; but tomorrow she would force herself to start living.
28
PRESENT DAY
Rose couldn’t remember feeling so content. She guessed the last time would have been before her mother’s cancer diagnosis, but ever since then she’d moved through life with urgency, almost as if she needed to fill every moment, to commit every second with her mum to memory, not knowing how much longer they had together.
But now, with Benjamin, it was almost as if she’d finally caught her breath and could just be. He reached over and strummed his fingers against her arm, and she lifted her wine glass to take a sip. He’d made her a spaghetti dinner and opened a bottle of red wine, and she was still enjoying the last of her glass as they sat on the sofa, their bowls empty on the table.
‘You look lost in thought,’ he said.
‘I am. I just, I don’t know, but this time, coming back here, I actually feel like I’m at home. It’s a strange feeling that I can’t quite describe.’
‘You’ve lived in the same place all your life?’
‘When I was very young, we lived with my father, but as far as I can remember, we lived in my grandmother’s place, and we stayed there after she passed away, too.’
‘My family are the same, we haven’t moved far. I like having that connection to my past though.’
She watched as his fingers kept gracing her skin.
‘How long ago did your great-grandfather pass away, Benjamin?’
‘When he was ninety, so more than ten years ago now.’
‘Do you think he and Valentina remained friends? Were they part of each other’s lives?’
